


I Love Him and I Can't Lose Him

by rooftopkisses



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, Hurt Andrew Minyard, Injured Andrew Minyard, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), M/M, Neil would be Eleven Andrew would be Mike, Nicky would be Dustin Kevin would be Lucas and Aaron would be Will send tweet x, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, but he has good reason cos he's worried about andrew, he goes on a couple classic Neil Josten RantsTM, mike wheeler is my SON and so is neil, neil is dramatic as hell, neil is mike and andrew is el but i would just like to say in a REAL st au, no matter where you stand on the nora "they never say i love you" debate, technically there's angst but it's all in neil's head?, they're baby, you should read this either way bc it's cute! lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23148655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rooftopkisses/pseuds/rooftopkisses
Summary: Andrew gets hurt in a game. Neil is worried. Neil accidentally tells every single one of the Foxes except Andrew that he is in love with him.—based on the iconic mike wheeler ‘i love her and i can’t lose her again’ scene from stranger things! but dw no knowledge of st is needed for this fic
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 283





	I Love Him and I Can't Lose Him

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by wishbonetea! Huge thank you to Lizzy! Go check out their rbb fic coming this Tuesday!
> 
> —
> 
> my first fic EVER published to ao3??? wow
> 
> like i said, this is based off a st scene but whether or not you watch stranger things i really hope you enjoy this!  
> if you /have/ seen stranger things, i hope you have fun catching the similarities!! i tried to keep things lined up best i could. there are some direct dialogue quotes sprinkled throughout so creds to them x
> 
> also, this is like, entirely coincidental, but today's my 21st birthday!! happy birthday to me!!
> 
> Anyways, you can find me on tumblr @rooftop-kisses with a aftg sideblog @neiljostenisahimbo.  
> If you enjoy this fic, please leave a kudos and a comment! xx

Neil didn’t know how long he had been waiting in the Foxes’ lounge. It felt like hours. He couldn’t seem to stop his leg from restlessly bouncing up and down, and he could only sit there and watch as his hands mindlessly rung back and forth. He knew the other Foxes were scattered around the room, sitting on the couch or standing by the door. He could hear their voices—but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Everything was static. His body was moving like it had a life of its own, and while he didn’t have control over his arms and legs, he seemingly didn’t have control over his mind either. He couldn’t stop replaying the moment Andrew’s head hit the plexiglass wall.

—

There had been ten minutes left in the game, and the Foxes were up by three points. It had been a pretty easy game actually, with Kevin and Neil securing four goals a piece in the first half. Andrew had subbed for Renee at the start of the second, and Neil knew they had a win. Two minutes left on the clock and Andrew rebounded the ball all the way up the court, with Neil hot on its tail. He caught it, but he wasn’t in a good position to score, and with so little time left he knew he didn’t have a moment to waste. He ricocheted the ball off the wall, aiming for Kevin on the right side of the court. Kevin caught the ball in his racquet with ease, but it was immediately knocked out by a pissed off backliner. They passed it to one of their dealers, and suddenly the ball was at half court—and heading towards the Foxes’ goal. The other team’s striker made a mad dash for a last minute point and Neil could do nothing but watch as the ball left her net, and she collided with Andrew as he veered to the left to deflect the ball. She hadn’t meant to hit him (if the thousands of apologies sputtered to Abby as she took Andrew off the court meant anything), but whether she meant to or not the damage was done. Andrew was knocked backwards from the force of the hit and his head crashed into the wall with a sickening _thump _before he slumped to the ground.__

____

Neil blinked and suddenly he was in front of the goal, in front of Andrew, looking down as Andrew’s typically deadpan face was pinched in pain.

____

“Andrew? Oh my god, Andrew, are you okay?” When Neil spoke, he was breathing in hard pants, and only then did it register that he had just spent forty-five straight minutes sprinting around the court and was in desperate need of water —or a gatorade.

____

Immediately after Neil spoke Andrew’s eyes shot up to meet his—seeming as if the concern in Neil’s voice brought him back to reality—and he finally took a look around and realized he had quite the audience. The court doors hadn’t been opened yet, but Neil knew Andrew didn’t have long until Abby was at his side asking a million questions. As it were, Aaron and Matt were standing to his right, Neil to his left, and the rest of the on-court Foxes soon jogged over and completed the semicircle.

____

Andrew didn’t look back at Neil, keeping his eyes on the court door as he watched Abby run in. “My head hurts. But I don’t think I have a concussion. I should be fine.” He took one last look at Neil’s face before he added, “Stop worrying”, and let Abby drag him off the court.

____

Neil was right on his heels, following them into Abby’s office, but after Abby instructed Andrew to lay down on the bed, she turned to Neil, and with a slight shake of the head and a hand up in a “stop” signal, she insisted she be left alone to examine Andrew. Neil started to argue but Abby’s eyes had gone hard and Neil knew there was no use trying to fight her. Besides, Neil figured that Andrew needed Abby’s attention and Neil didn’t want to waste any more time with her attention on him.

____

—

____

It only took ten more minutes of waiting before Kevin braved his way over to Neil and broke his contemplation.

____

“Neil. Stop.” Kevin attempted to put a hand on his knee to stop the shaking but Neil smacked it away before it could make contact. “Seriously, Neil, it’s not a big deal. He’s going to be alright.”

____

Neil couldn’t take it anymore. He stood, before whipping around to face Kevin. “This coming from the man who told me to take sports injuries seriously?”

____

Kevin just shook his head. “This is different. I heard Andrew, he said he was _fine _. He doesn’t throw that word around, unlike some people.” The last part is muttered under Kevin’s breath. “He was conscious and talking. You should trust him when he says he’s okay.”__

______ _ _

Neil’s nervousness for Andrew had been replaced with anger for Kevin. He was shaking again, but this time with rage. “The way you frame that is such bullshit! Of _course _I trust Andrew. Our whole—” He couldn’t believe it, but even now he was hesitant to call what he and Andrew had a ‘relationship’. The Foxes knew Andrew and him were _together _but it wasn’t exactly a topic Neil and Andrew were dying to talk about with others. Or with themselves, really.____

_________ _ _ _ _ _

“Andrew and I don’t lie to each other. I trust him. That doesn’t mean I can’t be worried about him.”

_________ _ _ _ _ _

“But there’s no reason to worry!” Kevin began, before his and Neil’s stare down was interrupted by a loud scoff.

_________ _ _ _ _ _

Neil watched as Allison crossed her arms. “Please, Andrew’s been through a helluva lot of shit. He was on antipsychotics, he had to go to a rehab center to get _off _said antipsychotics… if he can get through all of that, all the while threatening people with knives and fighting Renee every other night, I’m pretty sure he can handle a little hit to the head.”__

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Allison…” Renee placed a halting hand on Allison’s shoulder. “Neil, you have every right to be worried, I’m worried too, but... they might be right. Andrew’s his own person, and he’s not stupid, he knows his limits better than any of us.”

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Exactly.” That came from both Allison and Kevin.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Why don’t we wait for Abby’s results before jumping to the worst possible conclusions?” Renee continued.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Neil couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Him, of all people, the one they made fun of for saying “I’m fine” no matter what condition he was in, was the only one who could see how serious this was. What Andrew had been through in the past, that shit didn’t matter. It didn’t make him less susceptible to a concussion, and if he had a higher tolerance for pain due to what he had been through—well, that wasn’t exactly a good thing, and it definitely wasn’t something Neil was going to rely on for comfort.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Andrew has saved Neil’s ass countless times and he still doesn’t trust him.” Aaron chimed in, his voice full of destain.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You want to talk about trust?” Neil was absolutely seething now. “You want to talk about trust after you didn’t trust him to uphold his end of the deal and gave him endless shit when he did?” 

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Neil soldiered on, “Like I said before. I trust Andrew. I’d trust him with my life. Shit, I trust him more than anyone in this room and to be honest I trust him more than I trust myself most of the time.”

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Seriously, guys, can you all please calm down?” Nicky asked. “Wait for Abby, like Renee said? Kevin, Allison, Aaron, you guys need to lay off. Starting arguments with Neil isn’t going to help anything, and we all know who comes out on top when Neil starts a verbal fight.”

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Whatever. Who cares.” Aaron, the man who inserted himself in this conversation in the first place, suddenly didn’t seem to want to be a part of it anymore. But Neil wasn’t letting him off that easy.

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I __care. _What if he had cracked his head open? What if he _had _been unconscious?”____ __

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay, but he wasn’t?” Kevin countered.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“But what if he was?” Neil retorted.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Then we’d deal with it,” Renee answered. “No point in hypotheticals.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Kevin is being with Andrew. In fact how careless all of you are. You're treating him like some kind of machine, who can overcome any type of hurt or pain no problem, without feeling a thing, but he’s not a machine and he’s been through too much shit just to get hurt from a _stupid _exy game so can you all please _shut __up _because I love him and I can't loose him again!”______

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The static had returned. This time accompanied by the silence of his teammates. 

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kevin’s glare had turned into surprise. Renee just smiled slightly, while Dan and Matt—who had been standing across the room with Wymack—stared at Neil with twin expressions of shock on their face. Aaron looked disgusted, and Nicky was smirking and looked so happy and smug in a moment of Andrew’s peril that Neil (almost) wanted to punch him in the face.

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was then, as Neil scanned his teammates faces, that all seven pairs of eyes left Neil and shot towards the door to Abby’s office. Andrew was standing at the threshold, seemingly as bored as ever, and regaled the various looks with distaste. “What did I miss?”

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Seeing him, standing upright on his own, expression back in its neutral mask and looking so much like himself, Neil could finally exhale. “Andrew.”

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Junkie.”

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Abby cleared her throat and Neil suddenly found himself panicking again, as he realized he still didn't know what the diagnosis was. Andrew was standing in front of him, but that didn’t mean everything was okay, what if he had internal damage? _Irreversible _damage— “Andrew has a minor concussion,” Abby started. “Nothing more serious than that. He passed all my tests, and seems to be recovering naturally. He took quite a hit, but as long as he takes it easy the rest of the night, he’ll be okay.”__

___________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

With the news that Andrew would _truly _be okay, the Foxes finally dispersed to take a post-game shower and change out of their uniforms.__

_____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Neil and Andrew were silent until they got back from the stadium and found themselves on the roof of the Tower.

_____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Andrew and Neil were accustomed to waiting each other out. Their silences were never awkward, but they could always tell the difference between a natural silence and a purposeful one. This one was purposeful, as Neil didn’t want to bring up Andrew’s not-so-serious injury, and he was still contemplating the fact that he had told every single one of the Foxes _except _Andrew that he is in love with him.__

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The two were accustomed to waiting each other out, but it was usually Neil who caved first. For reasons Neil couldn’t fathom, Andrew was the one to break the silence this time.

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I told you not to worry.”

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I-I wasn’t,” Neil lied.

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Abby’s door isn’t that thick you know.”

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You could hear everything?” Neil’s voice shot up with every word.

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Not everything. Abby was talking over most of it.”

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Andrew took a drag of his cigarette and continued on the exhale, “Heard your little speech at the end there though.”

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Oh, you heard that?” Neil knew the blush on his cheeks had to be strong enough to be seen even in the dark of the night.

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I um, you know…” Neil trailed off, unsure of how to broach the topic, as this was uncharted territory.

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Junkie. I told you I was fine.”

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“You _said you didn’t think you had a concussion. Abby diagnosed you with a minor concussion.”__

_________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Andrew just scoffed, “They’re basically the same thing. If the doctor doesn’t diagnose you with a _major _concussion then there wasn’t a reason for you to go to the hospital in the first place.”__

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Well I meant it when I said I was worried. I was _scared _, Andrew. And the other thing I said…” Neil cleared his throat. He knew it was now or never. “I might not have meant to _say _it, but I meant it.”____

__

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

—

__

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

Andrew didn’t know what the hell to say to that. Except the only thing he could say.

__

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

“I love you too, Junkie.”

__

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

**Author's Note:**

> randomly switched to andrew's pov in that last bit bc i couldn't think of any other way to write it. whoops.
> 
> shouts out to my mom, the nurse, for that little bit at the end about minor/major concussions. i like to think andrew only knows that from secretly reading aaron's medical textbooks.


End file.
